What will be the output of the code given below?

The printf() function interprets its first argument as a format string. Since "ab" contains no format specifiers (like %s, %d, etc.), it is printed literally. The additional arguments "cd" and "ef" are passed but ignored because there are no corresponding format specifiers to consume them. Therefore, only "ab" is printed.

Step-by-step Derivation:
Step-by-step execution:

1. printf() is called with three string arguments: "ab", "cd", "ef"
2. The first argument "ab" is the format string
3. The format string "ab" contains no format specifiers (no % characters)
4. Since there are no format specifiers, printf() simply outputs the format string as-is: "ab"
5. The extra arguments "cd" and "ef" are ignored—they are never accessed or used
6. Output: ab